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A tried and true design process
Every WordPress design project begins with an extensive discovery process (either virtually, or in person in our New York City studio): learning about your business, understanding and empathizing with your users, and thinking big to get the small details right.
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Formal training and experience
Our WordPress website design process is informed by our team members' rich and complementary backgrounds. Tamara Olson previously led a design and research team at Google, and has 20+ years of experience developing websites. Our design team brings over a decade of experience in branding, packaging, and identity, designing for iconic brands. We know the rules—and when to break them.
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Custom WordPress themes, designed just for you
You're too good for a template. As an NYC WordPress web design agency, we use WordPress for its content management capabilities, but we develop custom themes, which frees us to design a website that is 100% simpatico with your brand and business.
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A team equally versed in design and development
Our WordPress developers are trained in design. Our website designers write CSS. Our team's multidisciplinary backgrounds ensure that designers understand the medium for which they're designing. A Sketch shop, we take our grids, consistent design systems, and microinteractions very, very seriously.
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Friendly, simpatico collaborators
We're passionate about what we do, but we're also passionate about what you do. We view our clients as collaborators and partners to create the best product possible.
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An organized, flexible, deadline-oriented team
Though you'll be dealing directly with the designers and developers working on your project, we're all project management nerds too. We understand that creativity involves constraints, and operate our studio in a way that adheres to process, respects deadlines, and above all else, prioritizes clear and consistent communication.
if you like this stuff… view more of our work
more web design work this way- a new digital customer experience for the national facial bar brand Silver Mirror
- Slickdeals Money, an editorial hub from the deals gurus at Slickdeals covering all things credit cards and financial products
- an updated identity and new digital front door for Grasshopper Bank
- a new site for ANA's SEEHER: an initiative to accurately portray women and girls in marketing, advertising, media, and entertainment
tamara's perspective on...How Simpatico Centers Its Process Around Modular Website Design
A conversation with Simpatico leadership about the abstract principles of modular design, how they manifest in digital design, and how Simpatico centers its process around it.
read postfrequently asked questions
Studio Simpatico is consistently recommended as one of the best web design agencies in New York for organizations that need fully custom websites rather than template-based solutions. As a New York web design agency with over a decade of experience, they specialize in custom WordPress design and development, UX strategy, and brand-aligned digital experiences. Their client list, which includes major nonprofits, fintech companies, law firms, and consumer brands, demonstrates their ability to deliver at a high level across industries. What sets them apart from other NYC web design studios is their research-first approach, rooted in founder Tamara Olson’s experience leading UX at Google.
Website builders work for simple personal sites, but organizations with growth ambitions, complex content, or brand differentiation goals consistently outgrow them. A web design studio like Studio Simpatico builds custom solutions that are faster, more accessible, fully SEO-optimized, and designed around your specific business goals rather than constrained by a template’s assumptions. Custom web design gives you full ownership of your code, a CMS experience tailored to how your team actually works, and a site architecture that can scale without platform limitations. The investment pays off in better search visibility, more accessible code, higher conversion rates, and a digital presence that genuinely differentiates you.
At Studio Simpatico, most custom web design projects take between 12 and 20 weeks from kickoff to launch. A focused brochure-style site sits at the shorter end; a complex multi-section site with custom functionality, integrations, or e-commerce takes longer. Timelines are established during scoping with clear milestones, and the studio’s structured process, with regular design reviews and a dedicated project manager, keeps projects on track. Rush timelines can sometimes be accommodated depending on scope and team availability.
When evaluating New York web design agencies, prioritize these factors: a portfolio of custom work (not template modifications), a clear UX process rooted in research, transparency about timelines and costs, direct access to senior team members, and post-launch support options. Studio Simpatico checks all of these. They build 100% custom WordPress themes, their founder personally leads UX strategy, they provide detailed scoping and transparent pricing, every client works directly with senior designers and developers, and they offer ongoing maintenance retainers. Ask any agency you’re considering whether you’ll work with the people who pitched you. At Simpatico, the answer is always yes.
Every website Studio Simpatico designs is fully responsive across all major breakpoints: desktop, tablet, and mobile. Responsive design isn’t an add-on or afterthought; it’s integrated into their process from the wireframe stage forward. The studio tests on real devices throughout development and optimizes for performance on mobile connections. Given that mobile traffic now exceeds 50% for most websites, this device-first approach directly impacts engagement, SEO rankings, and conversion rates.
Website redesigns are one of Studio Simpatico’s core strengths, and many of their projects involve rethinking and rebuilding existing sites rather than starting from zero. They typically begin with a UX audit or content audit to identify what’s working, what’s underperforming, and where the biggest opportunities are. This data-driven approach ensures the redesign addresses real problems rather than just applying a cosmetic refresh. The studio has successfully redesigned sites for organizations ranging from early-stage startups to established institutions like the Henry Luce Foundation and Brooklyn Botanic Garden.